Thursday, June 23, 2022 - ACME rides again!

Jean & Mike Do The New York Times Crossword

An ingenious theme in today's crossword, an anti-rebus -- instead of multiple letters scrunched into one square, we have two letters expanding out of ... nothing, just like the Big Bang (although not quite as noisy). Today's crossword was by Jeff Chen, and that means quality. Clues like 38A, One of two in 2/22/22, SLASH, and the amazing (and debut word) 21A, Carnivorous : meat :: carpophagous : ________, FRUIT are just a few of the many Easter eggs that await the diligent spelunker of today's grid.